The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-12-07

desk of his employer his wages and
perhaps before he reaches his home is
Obliged, in purchase for family use
of an article which embraces his own
labor, to return in the payment of the
increasing price which the tariff
permits the hard-earned cOmpen-
sation of many days of toll.
The farmer and the agriculturist who
manufactures nothing, but who pays
the increased price which the tariff
imposes upon every agricultural i'm
plem It, upon all he wears and upon
all l.. uses and owns except the in
crease of his 6ocks and herds and such
things as his husbandry produces from
the soil, is invited to aid in maintain
ing the
PRESENT SITUATION.
Mind, he is told that high duty on
imported wool is necessary for the
benefit of those who have sheep, IN
order that the price of their wool may
he increased. They, of course are not
reminded that the farmer who has no
sheep is by this scheme obliged IN his
purchase of clothing and wooden goods
to pay a tribute to his fellow farmer as
well as to the manufacturer and
merchant; nor is any mention made OF
selves and their households must wear
clothing, and use other articles that
they use at tariff prices, and thus as
consumers must return their share OF
this increased price to the tradesman.
think it may be fairly assumed that
large proportion of the sheep owned
by the farmers throughout the country
are found In
SMALL FLOCKS
numbering from twenty-five to fifty.
| The duty on the grade of imported
wool which these sheep yield is ten
cents tor each pound if of the value of
| 80 cents or less, and u cents if of the
value of more than 80 cents. If the
| liberal estimate of six pounds be al
| lowed for each fleece the duty thereon
would be 60 or y cents, and this may
| be taken as the utmost enhancement
OF it's price to the farmer by reason of
| this duty. Eighteen dollars would
thus represent the increased price OF
the wool from twenty-five sheep, and
$36 from that of fifty sheep, and at
present values this addition would
amount to about one third of its price.
| If on it's sale the farmer receives this
or less
TARIFF PROFIT
| the wool leaves his hands charged
with precisely that sum, which in all
its charges will adhere to it until it
| reaches the consumer. When manu-
| f. "+ured into cloth and other goods
material for use, it's cost is not
OH increased to the extent OF the
far. er's tariff profit, bat further
sun has been added for the benefit of
| the manufacturer under the operation
of other tariff laws. In the meantime
! the day arrives when the farmer finds
| it necessary to purchase wooden goods
and material to clothe himself and
family for the winter. When he faces the
| tradesmen for that purpose he discOv-
erS that he is obliged not only to
| return in the way of increased prices
his tariff profit on the wool he sold
| and which then perhaps lies before him
| in manufactured form, but that he
must add
CONSIDERABLE SUM
thereto to meet further increase
caused by a tariff duty on the manu-
facturer. Thus in che end he is
aroused to the fact that he has paid
upon a moderate purchase, as a result
of the tariff scheme, which when he
sold mis- wool seemed so profitable, an
increase in price of more than sufficient
| to sweep away all the tariff profit he
received upon the wool he produced
and sold. When the number of farm
ers engaged in wool raising is COM
rared with all the farmers in the co6r-
try, and the small proportion they
| bear to our population is considered,
when it is made apparent that in the
case OF large part Of those who own
sheep the benefit Of the present t9Ef
on wool
Is AN ILLUSION,
and when it must be conceded that
6Ae increase of the cost eli living
caused BY such tariff becomes a bar
den UPON those with moderate means,
and the poor, the employed and unem-
pleyed, the sick and well and the
young and Old, and that it constitutes
tax which with relentless grasp is
fastened upon the clothing of every
man, woman and child in the land,
reasons are supported why the re-
noval or reduction of this duty should
be included in the revision of our
tariff laws.
In speaking of the increased cost to
the consumer of our home manNf&c-
lures, resulting from duty laid upon
imported articles of the same deserip-
Il0H, Gue IdCG Is
NOT OVERLOOKED
that competition among our domestic
producers sometimes has the effect OF
keeping the price of our products be-
low the highest limit allowed by such
duty, but it is notorious that this
competition is too often Strangled by
combinations, quite prevalent at times
and frequently called trusts, which
have for their object the regulation of
the supply and price of commodities
made and sold by members of the
combination The people can hardly
hope for consideration ia the opera
ton of these selfish schemes. If, now
ever, in the absence of such combina-
ton a healthy and free competition
reduces the price of any particular du-
table article of home production be-
low which it might otherwise reach
under car tariT laws, and if, with
such reduced price the manufactures
-. CONTINUES TO THRIVE,
it is entirely evident that one thing has
been discovered which shsHld be care
fully scrutinized in an effort to reduce
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